Lake Michigan Marine Sanctuary: 'alternative facts' put to rest

I was glad to see the commentary in the Oct. 22 edition regarding the marine sanctuary ("Marine sanctuary has had positive impact in Alpena").

In the past few months, there has been considerable negative statements made about the proposed sanctuary. One comment even suggested that the observer had been to the Thunder Bay Marine Sanctuary in Alpena, Michigan, and saw no appreciable economic benefit from their sanctuary.

I have been to Thunder Bay three times, and stayed in their RV parks, eaten at their restaurants, put fuel in my motor coach, and purchased items for myself and my grandchildren.

The commentary, from nine citizens from the Alpena area, put to rest the "alternative facts" the naysayers were trying to spread.

We have heard from those who have lived with the Thunder Bay Marine Sanctuary, and that should count heavily for those who are deciding whether to back the sanctuary proposed for the Lakeshore.

Let's not confuse the statements of those who have an agenda with those who have the real facts!

Tom Van Horn
Manitowoc

Continued support needed to find cure for Alzheimer's disease

This year, the annual cost of caring for individuals living with Alzheimer’s or other dementias will reach $259 billion, $175 billion of which comes in direct costs to Medicare and Medicaid. Yet, in 2017, for every $100 the U.S. government spends on Alzheimer’s research, $12,500 will be spent by Medicare and Medicaid to care for those living with the disease.

Thankfully, Congress is taking action. Just recently, a $400 million increase in Alzheimer’s research funding was approved.

We need continued support from all of our Wisconsin representatives in Washington. I urge voters across Wisconsin’s Sixth District to contact U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman urging him to be a voice in Washington, D.C., in this fight to find a cure for this disease. Go to https://grothman.house.gov/contact or call his office at 920-907-0624.

The human toll of Alzheimer’s is obvious, especially to someone like me who leads the Dementia Center of Excellence at Felician Village, who just lost my grandmother to this disease and who watched the toll caregiving took on my grandfather.

Today, there are more than 5 million Americans living with this disease — the only leading cause of death without a way to prevent, cure or even slow its progression.

Barring the development of medical breakthroughs to prevent or cure Alzheimer’s, the number of Americans with the disease is set to triple over the next 35 years, and the cost of care will increase to $1.1 trillion in 2050.

It is only through adequate funding and a strong implementation of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease that we will meet its goal of preventing and effectively treating Alzheimer’s by 2025.

U.S. Soccer and its future

Still employed at Red Arrow Products in 2011, I told my co-workers (and here in the HTR) that the hiring of Coach Jürgen Klinsmann for the U.S. national soccer team was not the answer to building a soccer program/team capable of competing on the world level.

Klinsmann was more concerned about the players' diet during the few days a year they spent together. He was also constantly searching the globe for dual-citizen American soccer players who would fit into his system, but there was no system. A few hours before game time, he very often changed his tactical lineup, and you just can’t play differently from how you have practiced.

The problems already started a few years back when U.S. men’s soccer did not qualify for the London Olympics in 2012 or the Rio Olympics in 2016. These failures should have raised an enormous red flag in the front office. Our feeder system is not keeping up with the rest of the world. With our geographical location, we should be almost guaranteed to make it through the first round.

So the real problem is expensive club soccer. We are paying to be mediocre and have essentially no soccer culture (street soccer). We don’t have an elite soccer development system. We have a pay-for-play (hefty check) system (e.g. the Wisconsin Olympic Development System). Too many coaches and parents are focused too heavily on wins and not enough on teaching and developing individual players to play the game. We have players with $150 shoes who cannot trap a ball.

So, what are local coaches to do? Get away from the run-and-gun approach and start teaching possession ball (in any direction).